Study extra in regards to the 80s period Oldsmobile 98 and its luxurious trappings.
source
Get information about the best car maintenance tips, car service advise, hacks, news and updates about the automative world and more.
My Aunt and Uncle had an '81 olds 88. To me it was luxury. My Mom and Dad had a brand new '81 Honda Accord. Nice car but no Oldsmobile
I miss olds and especially pontiacs
I remember that era very well they were smog down detuned carbureted junk and the diesels were a big disaster I remember when you turn your car off the gas engines would keep running and Diesel on they also smelled like rotten eggs no power just complete USA garbage boy if you bought a olds diesel you sure would never buy another GM product those were bad times and so are the automobiles sorry I'm not a fan
The 2 door version is simply a beautiful car!
Very informative, thank you! My 2015 Subaru Outback has a nice comfy leather-appointed center arm rest, and my 1957 Studebaker Champion Scotsman has the large trunk. Both get around 27mpg. The Stude has an inline iron block sweepstakes 6 with a single barrel Carter carb, 0-60 in 4 minutes down hill with wind blowing from the back! But with overdrive, up to 30mpg. Did I mention the trunk? 😊
Hi Adam, I had an Aunt and Uncle from Ohio that were big Oldsmobile buyers having had many over the years. My Aunt always had two door models and my Uncle was the four door person of the family. I recall one year when they visited us here in Connecticut they drove her 1976 Oldsmobile 98 which was in a cream color with all the power options. What a boat that was. On the occasion of a trip we took to Ohio in 1973 I was able to ride in my Uncle's 1970 Oldsmobile Holiday four door also in a cream color. They certainly were big ,luxurious cars that still had some power back in the early seventies. Thanks for the video.
This was one of my favorite cars..i actually liked this one better than my 80 Lincoln Continental with the Town Coupe package. My 98 Regency Brougham came with the 307 with the 5A heads and 2004R transmission. Other's had trouble with their transmission. I remember they couldn't figure out why mine just lasted and lasted while theirs had to be rebuilt. I serviced mine and used premium fluid. And I didn't drive my car like i stole it. I ended up having 2 more 98 Regency Broughams with 307s in 4 doors and 2 Olds Delta 88s in coupe's with 307s. Back then I'd buy them cheap, tune them, clean it up…get bored and resell and find another one that needed care. Working was my hobby. Worked 50-84 hours per week most places and then i would come home and work on something. Now my back and knees don't put up with all that anymore but I usually go out in the afternoon and do something in the shop for a few hours. Mine was black with a tan leather interior. I think all the other's had cloth interiors. Plush cloth is fine… better in both temperature extremes than vinyl or leather.
Adam i have a 1984 98. The same color as your 81. It should be called Sand Grey. Mine his a Royal blue interior and a blue quarter vinyl top. The 307 as you said is not a hot rod by any means. But it is reliable as reliable as hell. And it is Bulletproof my father bought his new it was later handed down to me and I still have it to this day. The car has over 151000 miles and it'll still turn right over and I have no fear of driving it anywhere it is solid as a rock. Even the interior there isn't a rattle or a shake in it. My other car is a 1978 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale with the 350. I was lucky enough to purchase this car from the original owner with only thirty-three thousand original miles on it. The car was dealer service and kept in a climate-controlled garage. It is a real time capsule. I stripped off all the Pollution Control devices such as the catalytic converters I put true dual exhaust on it even got rid of the PCV valve. It was like the car. A shot of espresso. I love both cause they were built when Oldsmobile was at their best
In high school got to drive a four door Regency Brougham a lot. It was very nice!! Brown exterior and camel interior
At 10:39 we notice the foot light in the door for getting in and out of the car. I don’t know if fancy new cars these days has such lights but my 2011 Honda CRV EX-L does not have them. Just thinking how so many amenities of cars past are gone now.🤔🇺🇸
Gorgeous looking cars!😊
I think a video about the most comfortable/best looking seats would be a good video!
One of my father's friends had a 1978 Chrysler New Yorker which, although it had yet to be shortened by then like the Olds, had seats that featured a very similar button tufted seating arrangement, only in blue leather. I think I like the Olds cloth seats featured in this one a little bit more but either way I think I can personally testify to the amazing tendency for small objects like, say, food crumbs (there WERE hungry children being shuttled hither and thither), to accumulate in that valley where the buttons lived and not even a good, strong, shop vac could suck it all up. He was always going in there with tweezers or needle noses and a moist rag to fully extract the debris. Yet another example of the incestuousness that sometimes takes place in the auto industry, eh?
Hi, in my opinion this is the last generation of Olds 98 that was true on the olds legacy. Sadly when they change to front wheel drive they lost their track.
I put many miles in those early 80’s GM sleds, and I 100% agree, they were the LAST cars ever built with truly comfortable interiors and armrests.
The 91' Suburban was the last comfy interior.
Dad was a car distributor for Oldsmobile. My mom had a new 78, 79,80 cutlass supreme and a new 81, 82, 83 and 84 Oldsmobile Ninety Eight. I believe the first three were Regency models, and the 84 was a Regency Brougham with the velvet interior, electroluminescent coach lamps between the front and rear doors and the plushest carpet I have ever seen in an automobile. Still have a lot of dealer brochures from the early 80s.
Malaise era, what the fuck does that mean or supposed to mean,if you don't like the olds why try to discourage other people from liking it, the term malaise era was conjured up by a bunch of bucket head adrenaline junkies who are still pissed about the industry switching to 5mph bumped and less horsepower, hell that was more than 50 years ago, after a half century you idiots still brooding over the same, seriously.
How would this car compare to the Buick Electra and the Cadillacs on which it shared a platform? Was this the best of the lot? Also, if you are looking for one, would it be better to find a 1976 with the more torquey engine and better transmission, or are there compelling reasons to go for a newer one?
We had an olds 98 with a 5.7 diesel.. I remember it always broke.. after awhile there was a push button glow plug.. eventually a 72 455 big block got thrown it.. lost track of er in 95.. looked like grannys car.. hauled a$$.. classt n heavy interior
IMHO 80/81 was the best refinements on Pontiac, Olds and Buick. I did rather like the 77 Caprice 2dr HT tho.
Oldsmobile outclassed Cadillac with these
If you did not get a smooth ride out of an Oldsmobile 98 from 1981, you missed the boat.
Soft seats and a comfy well placed arm rest are just not available in any modern cars, they are trying to be sporty not supremely comfortable. The pillowed GM seats in 70's & 80's American cars are the most comfortable seats every installed in any car made by any maker anywhere in the world any time in motoring history up until now in 2023. Perhaps they'll come back one day?
Olds got their accelerator pedals from Mack Trucks
To me this "Chapter 2" styling on the first Olds downsizing looks exceedingly polite – somewhat recalling a cat on its hunches. One of my surprise (to me) favourite late-20th-century car designs.
Dear sir , i had a oldsmobile 98 regency internet netherlands the interieur was beautiful out side also but the engine v8 wash not strong enough
They have made all of these new cars with hard uncomfortable seats and no class compared to the cars in the 70's and 80's. True luxury has went away to so called European style. Such a shame
What you can do with $100 extra per car…
We had a 81 98 Regency Diesel new, beautiful car.
I agree, one of my favorites. The wheelskirts really sleeked it up nicely, and gave it a longer/lower vibe compared to the Buicks. My G'pa bought several Ninety Eights new when I was a kid, and riding in the back was every bit as nice as the Caddys he used to have.
Related trivia: Apparently he also bought the first new Toronado in StL, that was before my time.
I did some deep diving and found a good pic of the rare optional gauges: https://bonhamscarsonline.twic.pics/b4abd9b4-0324-4d75-8a85-19c9c21e4a84/9a5ec188-d98a-452d-bc7a-fc6908a8c3c7.jpg
Oldsmobile outclassed Cadillac with these!!
Got combined mpg 18-19 on my ‘ 83 307 4 speed. 3 speed did the same.
My dad had a mid 80s Olds 98 4dr in white, padded vinyl white roof, wire wheel hubcaps, rear fender skirts(?), and it looked better than a caddy.
Loved the 1984 Olds 98 Regency!!
Had a wagon with the 5.7 diesel . Never an issue out of it so long as the block heater was plugged in if it was gonna be off for more than about 30 minutes. Otherwise better get the ether or it would not fire.
Yes! I had an 83 Olds 98 Regency 2 door. Bought it when I graduated in 1990. Drove it for 10 years and never had a single issue with it other than the alternator. Sadly I was hit by a drunk and it was totaled.
Gages were available on these. On either side of the steering column. Oil water volts. '78-'90 on the B body Olds and '78-'84 on the C body.
Great videos, I've been running the oldsmobile 307 for 4 years in my 81' Eldorado. Its fantastic! Box cars are making a come back.
My Dad was a Greyhound bus driver and a trained mechanic. He had a 1982 98 with the diesel. He loved it and me and my brother would use it when we had a long road trip to say on fuel. It had the factory built in CB radio which made road trips really fun. No better entertainment than listening to the truckers. The seats were the most comfortable I have ever sat in a car.
The v8 you showed didn’t appear to have the oil filler on the front of the block was I missing it. I know the Chevy 5.0 the oil filler wa on the valve cover.
I had an '80 98. Even with the weight down somewhat from the 1976 & earlier model it was still a fine road cruiser. And it's 307 V8 wasn't bad on gas either. So sad that GM destroyed the 98 line in 1985 with a line that looked the same as their smaller cars.
Carter Malaise began in the later 70s. Not the 80s. And despite the rotten government under Johnson and democrats and Nate emissions ..these cars were solid and very comfortable. Olds 98 was one of the best luxury cars made during this time. My folks and many relatives drove these cars. Never had any trouble.